Jan 17, Mannar: Skeletal remains of four more people have been unearthed from the unmarked grave site found in Mannar in Northern Sri Lanka Thursday, authorities said.

The four skeletons were unearthed when the second phase of the excavation commenced yesterday (16) under the direction of specialist Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Dr. Dhananjaya Waidyaratna in the presence of Mannar District magistrate Ms. Ananthi Kanagaratnam.

With the latest discovery, skeletal remains of 36 people have been unearthed so far from the site that lies along the access road to the Thirukethiswaram Kovil in Mannar in the former war zone.

During yesterday's excavations the authorities have found some beads among the skeletal remains but the JMO has said that it was not possible to deduce any connection of the finding to the human remains.

Construction workers laying water pipes along the road stumbled on the human skeletal remains last month and alerted the police.

So far no clues have been found from the site to determine when the bodies were buried or by whom.

It has been reported that the site was in the region that was under the control of the Tamil Tigers until the security forces liberated Mannar in 2008.

Further excavations will resume today and security has been tightened in the area, the authorities said.